| The Calcium Kid | |
|---|---|
Promotional movie poster for the film |
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| Directed by | Alex De Rakoff |
| Produced by | Natascha Wharton |
| Written by | Derek Boyle Alex De Rakoff Raymond Friel |
| Starring | Orlando Bloom Michael Peña Michael Lerner, Billie Piper Mark Heap |
| Music by | Boilerhouse Boys |
| Cinematography | David M. Dunlap |
| Editing by | Mags Arnold Jon Harris |
| Studio | StudioCanal Working Title Films WT2 Productions |
| Distributed by | Universal Pictures |
| Release date(s) | 30 April 2004 6 August October 17, 2005 (TV premiere) |
| Running time | 89 min. |
| Country | UK |
| Language | English |
The Calcium Kid is a British mockumentary comedy film which was released in 2004. It stars Orlando Bloom as a milkman and amateur boxer. Billie Piper and Michael Peña are also featured. It is directed by Alex De Rakoff and produced by Working Title Films.
Contents |
Jimmy Connelly (Orlando Bloom) is a milkman who is thrust into the spotlight after a brutal fighter, Pete Wright (Tamer Hassan), gets injured. Under manager Herbie Bush (Omid Djalili), Jimmy must fight the middleweight champion of the world, Jose Mendez (Michael Peña). It includes numerous references to Rocky.
Within the lead up to the fight with Mendez, Jimmy has to take part in a press conference, in which Bush recommends him to give Mendez fighting talk. However, this leads to Jimmy being seen as a fascist and a disgrace to England after being seen as racist.
After Jimmy realises the harm Bush has caused, he calls off the fight. As bush and the training team look for Jimmy, they find him cleaning his old milk cart. In a negotiation to help the town in order to fight, Jimmy is persuaded to participate.
In the locker room, minutes before the fight, as Jimmy and his crew walk backstage, Wright holds a shotgun to them, whilst the camera crew is also held hostage, filming the event. Wright leads them to a room were Jimmy is forced to fight Mendez, who is also held hostage. After getting substantially battered by Mendez, Jimmy manages to fight back, but then Wright smacks his head with the gun. Then Wright goes to shoot Mendez, leaving him praying for his life. Then Jimmy punches Wright, leaving him knocked out.
With the film crew recording the event, Jimmy becomes a hero, not only in Britain, but his home town.
The film was universally panned by critics, and has a rare overall rating of 0% on Rotten Tomatoes.[1]